Refugees, Civil Society and the State

European Experiences and Global Challenges

Ludger Pries, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany

Ludger Pries explores the important moral, social and political challenge facing Europe and the international community: the protection of refugees as one of the most vulnerable groups on the planet.

‘Overall, the book is a good resource for anyone academically interested in refugee mobility, the EU’s response to the migration events of 2015 and to civil society’s reaction. The author has an eloquent writing style that makes the book easy to read including the sections providing legal and institutional background information. Therefore, the book soundly addresses a wide audience composed of students and academics from different disciplines in the social sciences.’
- - - - - -Müge Dalkıran, Border Criminologies Blog

‘Ludger Pries shows how refugee flows are a symptom of a new transnational social question, revealing the weakness of the Common European Asylum framework, which has degenerated into a system of “organised non-responsibility”. In global terms, the United Nations’ refugee protection is breaking down, making new approaches essential. Pries’ institutional sociology approach points to possible ways forward, based on involvement of civil society and social movements, and strategies to reduce inequality within and between nations.’
- - - - - -Stephen Castles, University of Sydney, Australia

‘Ludger Pries uses three dyads to provide a sophisticated examination of the “refugee crisis” of 2015: the global dynamics of migration vs methodological nationalism, the evolution of European legal asylum instruments vs “organized non-responsibility” on the part of some political leaders and, finally, internationalist solidarity movements vs right-wing populism. The result is an insightful analysis of events hitherto obscured by sensationalist headlines.’
- - - - - -Robin Cohen, University of Oxford, UK